Autumn Nations Series | Preview: England v Wales

by Phil Campbell

England will be out for revenge against Wales at Twickenham this Saturday as the two rivals play each other for the second time in a week.

The visitors kicked off their Summer Nations Series campaign with a 20-9 victory at Principality Stadium last week over tomorrow’s hosts as both teams continue their preparations ahead of the World Cup.

Team News

England head coach Steve Borthwick has made 11 changes to his starting XV with Owen Farrell returning as captain in what’s set to be his 107^th cap.

Courtney Lawes comes in at blindside flanker while No.8 Billy Vunipola will play for the national side for the first time this year.

Freddie Steward and Joe Marchant are the only two back rowers from last Saturday who retain their place as England hope a shift in personnel can bare fruit against the Wales defence.

Courtney Lawes and Maro Itoje

Maro Itoje partners George Martin in the second row as Martin gears up to play his first match for England at Twickenham.

Warren Gatland will hand centre Joe Roberts his international debut on Saturday as hooker Dewi Lake will captain his country for the first time at senior level.

Josh Adams is inline to win his 50^th Wales cap, five years after making his international bow in the 2018 Six Nations against Scotland.

Wales winger Josh Adams

Dan Lydiate returns at blindside flanker after an injury picked up against Australia last year as Taine Plumtree keeps his place at No.8 having made his debut in the reverse fixture last week.

Ones to watch

France-bound Joe Marchant had an impressive final season with Harlequins despite his side missing out on a top-four spot.

The centre recorded nine tries across all competitions and could prove to be a threat to the Wales defence come Saturday.

Having signed for Stade Francais, Marchant will no doubt want to make an impact at the World Cup in France and a good performance against Wales tomorrow will serve as great preparation for the 27-year-old.

Tom Rogers will be eager to seize the opportunity presented to him tomorrow by Gatland as the winger will make his third international appearance and first since 2021.

The Welshman, who can play full-back too, scored three tries in 10 matches for Scarlets last season and the 24-year-old will be itching to cross the English try line tomorrow if given the chance.

Stat Attack

England are currently on a six-match winning streak against Wales at Twickenham with the Welsh’s last win at the venue coming via a 28-25 success in their Pool A clash in the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
Wales have only won one World Cup warm up fixture away from home in their history which came courtesy of a 16-10 victory over Ireland in Dublin in 2015.
England and Wales have played each other a total of 70 times in England with the home side winning 42 of those encounters compared to Wales’s 20. There have been eight draws.

Teams

England: 15. Freddie Steward, 14. Henry Arundell, 13. Joe Marchant, 12. Ollie Lawrence, 11. Elliot Daly, 10. Owen Farrell (c), 9. Jack van Poortvliet; 1. Joe Marler, 2. Jamie George, 3. Will Stuart, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. George Martin, 6. Courtney Lawes, 7. Ben Earl, 8. Billy Vunipola.

Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Jonny Hill, 20 Jack Willis, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 George Ford, 23 Max Malins.

Wales: 15. Liam Williams, 14. Josh Adams, 13. Joe Roberts, 12. Nick Tompkins, 11. Tom Rogers, 10. Owen Williams, 9. Tomos Williams, 1. Gareth Thomas, 2. Dewi Lake (capt), 3. Tomas Francis, 4. Rhys Davies, 5. Adam Beard, 6. Dan Lydiate, 7. Tommy Reffell, 8. Taine Plumtree.

Replacements: 16. Sam Parry, 17. Kemsley Mathias, 18. Dillon Lewis, 19. Christ Tshiunza, 20. Taine Basham, 21. Kieran Hardy, 22. Dan Biggar, 23. Keiran Williams.